Dean Burmester made it back-to-back wins on the DP World Tour thanks to a three-shot victory at the South Africa Open in Johannesburg.
The 34-year-old hit a final-round 68 including two birdies in the final three holes to pull away from the chasing pack which featured compatriot Ryan van Velzen, Italy’s Renato Paratore, and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson to earn a second consecutive DP World Tour title following his victory at the Joburg Open.
Despite Friday’s illness nearly forcing the South African out of the tournament, he managed to play himself into contention on Saturday with a third-round 65.
Entering the final round, Burmester found himself trailing the leader by two shots. However, three birdies in the front nine propelled him to the summit of the leaderboard.
“Back-to-back! I’ve never done that before so that was special,” Burmester said. “It’s obviously one as a South African that I’ve always wanted to win.
“To be involved in this tournament and to win it, with a bank that used to sponsor me and got me off the ground when I was just a kid, is super special.
“So to be the SA Open champion is something I’ll never forget. It’s a tournament I watched growing up and I watched a lot of legends.”
van Velzen, Paratore, and Svensson all finished tied-2nd on eight under while defending champion Thriston Lawrence closed the tournament with a 67 to finish tied-10th alongside Italy’s Francesco Laporta.
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the Alfred Dunhill Championship taking place between 7-10 December at Leopard Creek CC in Malelane, South Africa.